Charn's Sisters
by boshrocks
Summary: Not long after leaving Caspian as king, Lucy and Edmund find themselves back in narnia facing a new challenge in the form of Jadis's sister from Charn and Jadis herself. not like other OC stories- based on facts from books. CaspianSusan and EdmundSolaris
1. Camping Out

Lucy sighed as she crossed the road with Edmund

Lucy sighed as she crossed the road with Edmund.

"What's up with you?" Edmund asked.

"I want to go back to Narnia." She burst out.

"We only just got back, and you said that last time."

They stepped back onto the pavement bustling with people.

"I know." Lucy said. "I want to live there. Forever. I want to bring Narnia back to it's former glory, like when we were all the kings and queens the first time round. After we defeated the White Witch."

"I know what you mean. I sort of wish I was there again. We weren't there for very long. Whose fault was that again?"

They stopped and shared a look. "Peter's." they said together. Then they both laughed and Edmund slung his arm over Lucy's shoulders as they continued walking.

"Coming back, London seems dull doesn't it?" Lucy asked.

Edmund pulled her out of the way as a small patrol of soldiers marched past them. "I don't know about that. Seems pretty exciting to me."

"Ed, yes it's war, but you can't take part. In Narnia you're Kind Edmund the Just, the right hand man of High King Peter. In London you're just Edmund."

"It's a hard point. But a true one." Edmund snorted as they continued on. "Maybe we can go back soon."

"It took a year last time. How much to bet it's going to be another year?"

Edmund looked surprised at the hopeless tone in her voice. "What's this? Queen Lucy the Valiant losing hope? The world must be coming to an end. Tell you what, Lu. It's been simply ages since we spent time together just us. Want to have a camp out tonight? Nothing big, just pitch the tent in the garden."

"What about Peter and Susan?"

"They're too serious. They don't have a lot of time for either of us anymore. Since that talk with Aslan before we left they've not been that, well, friendly towards us. It's like they're distancing themselves from us. I think we're too young for them. They're growing up."

"And they're leaving us behind. Again. I'm always left behind. Even in Narnia." Lucy complained kicking a loose stone aimlessly.

"We don't want you to get hurt."

"I can take care of myself. I don't need to be babied." Lucy shook off his arm and stalked ahead. Her dignity was crushed a moment later as she slipped and fell into a puddle.

Edmund stifled a snort and went to help her up. Her simple school skirt was wet through. Seeing this, Edmund couldn't help laughing.

"That would have been so much more dignified if that hadn't just happened." Lucy said through her own giggles.

As they entered the street where they lived a torrent of rain suddenly beat down upon them. Laughing they hurried to their house and Edmund fumbled with the keys. Finally they fell inside onto the mat and Susan and Peter looked up at them in surprise from the sitting room where they were doing their homework. They looked on disapprovingly as the younger siblings burst out laughing again.

"What took you so long?" Susan mothered.

"Ed wanted to buy a new torch, since he left his in Narnia." Lucy said as she picked herself up and then raised Edmund to his feet. "So much for the camp out." she said as she and Edmund went through to the kitchen and heard the rain pelting on the windows.

"We can still have it. Come on, Lu. We'll set up our sanctuary. Just like we used to, when we were little and wanted to escape the elders." Edmund nodded his head back towards the sitting room and the studious siblings.

Lucy nodded, smiling enthusiastically. She remembered escaping to their sanctuary when they were younger. It wasn't much; just a bedsheet set up like a tent with an old fashioned gas lamp and to them it was an escape. They used to be close; before Edmund thought he was too grown up for Lucy. In the year since the return from their first trip to Narnia Edmund had seemed more like his old self. He was more grown up but he had learned his lesson and treated Lucy like more of an equal.

Their mother had started working nights in a nearby hospital, so Susan had to be the mother of the house. She and Lucy enjoyed preparing the evening meals and doing the housework. Susan barely blinked when Lucy asked her sweetly if it was okay for her and Edmund to have a dinner of sandwiches upstairs in private.

When Lucy brought the plate of sandwiches upstairs with a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses all on a tray up to the old playroom Edmund was just finishing setting up the tent. He turned and smiled at her.

She set the tray down and then they pulled the oldest double mattress in the house into the sanctuary. They had always slept beside each other when they camped out, gossiping and whispering secrets to each other until late in the night.

"Why do you think Peter and Susan are in such a hurry to grow up?" Lucy asked when they lay on their tummies on the mattress, settled in for a good talk.

"Probably because of the way people treat us as kids. They patronise us terribly. Except in Narnia of course. In Narnia, even as children, we're treated like adults. I think they want to keep that feeling so they try to be as grown up as they can be." Edmund said turning over onto his back.

Lucy propped herself onto her side and looked down at her brother. "You're probably right. Do you know how wise you are? No wonder you were crowned King Edmund the Just." She reached over and ruffled his hair playfully. He didn't brush her hand away.

"Wisdom is something I could have used when the white witch got me."

"In a way I'm glad you weren't wise then." Lucy curled a lock of her own hair round her finger and lowered her eyes.

"Why, precious?"

"Well, you were so ghastly before you learnt your lesson, and then after we rescued you and you had that talk with Aslan you turned back into the old Edmund. The one who used to play with me, who'd stand up for me when people laughed at me, who'd help me when I was learning to read, the brother I could go to when I had nightmares, and who'd read me to sleep. Until you felt like you had to grow up you were my favourite brother. You needed to learn that lesson to become my favourite again. I may be a silly little girl, but I knew you'd come back to me. I never lost hope."

Edmund smiled and took her hand. "You never do. You really are the heart of the Pevensie's; your faith always sees us through. Without you, we wouldn't be nearly as successful as we were as kings and queens. You taught us to believe in the best in people; that everyone has good in them. You probably think that even the White Witch had some level of decency in her."

"She's probably the one person who doesn't. Although she may have been a good person once who was seduced by evil. As, I might remind you, were you. Briefly. But you, luckily, have a good heart beneath here." She patted his chest lightly. "Which saw you through it."

"Thank you. Another factor you didn't include was the family I have behind me. A family that risked their lives to rescue me."

"That's what family does." Lucy said simply. "Families stick together."

Their conversation that night ran along the lines of Narnia and the people they knew there; whether Caspian would make a good king and what trouble Trumpkin was getting himself into. That night they both dreamt of Narnia as it once was; during the Golden Age of their rein. In dreams they visited Cair Paravel their wonderful palace which had been their home for the twenty Narnian years of their rein.

Edmund awoke to birdsong and found that Lucy was snuggled up to him with her head on his chest. He smiled down at her and thanked god that it was the weekend so they didn't have to get up early. Broad sunlight was beaming through the opening of their tent and it was mottled, as though they were in a forest.

As carefully as he could he moved Lucy off himself and crawled to the mouth of the tent.

"Lucy? Wake up." he tried not to sound panicky.

"What is it?" she said sleepily.

"Lu, I don't think we're in Finchley anymore."

Lucy pulled herself to the mouth of the tent too and rubbed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Look at it. Look familiar?"

"Impossible." Lucy breathed.

"Narnia." They whispered together.


	2. Solaris

"This is Narnia all right

"This is Narnia all right." Lucy said getting out of the tent and looking around at their surroundings. "But where in Narnia are we?"

"No clue." Edmund said coming out of the tent too.

"What's that?" Lucy said before dashing off through the trees. "Edmund!" she called a moment later. "Come and see! I know where we are!"

Edmund rushed to her side. She was standing beneath the much rusted lamppost. It had grown into the surroundings and was held up by a young tree.

"I never thought we'd end up here. So now what?" Edmund asked, touching the sapling gently, it quivered slightly at his touch. The trees were alive now.

"We have to go to Cair Paravel and find out what's happening. We have to find out how much time has passed since we left. Remember? Last time a year in earth years turned into thirteen hundred years in Narnian terms." Lucy said practically.

"About six months, your highness." A pleasant, amused voice said from behind them.

They spun around and came face to face with King Caspian on his faithful horse Destrier. He smiled down at them benignly. The centaur Glenstorm watched them too from nearby.

"Caspian? Glenstorm"

"What are you doing here Caspian?" Edmund asked.

"We are out for a morning ride. What are you both doing here and why are you dressed so strangely?"

Edmund and Lucy looked down at their apparel. Edmund was wearing his pyjamas and Lucy her night gown. "We went to sleep in London and woke up here." Lucy said blushing.

"Well we must get you back to Cair Paravel and get you dressed properly. the quickest way is to ride. You don't mind Glenstorm?"

"For the kings and queens of Narnia, of course not."

On the ride through the woods and along the beach Caspian explained the current situation. One of his seers had detected a problem with the distant and presumed destroyed Charn. It worried him because Charn was where Jadis the White Witch had come from. She had destroyed the whole country, before coming to Narnia and creating the hundred year winter, and which now lay deserted. The whole situation puzzled him. He said that he would appreciate Edmund's input and thoughts.

When they approached the old ruins of Cair Paravel and the new Cair Paravel being built nearby the original Lucy thought she saw someone in the ruins.

"Help me down Glenstorm. I think I see someone in the ruins."

"You must be mistaken, Queen Lucy. There is nobody there."

"Well, help me down and I'll prove it." Lucy snapped. Glenstorm did so and she ran over to the ruined Cair Paravel.

Standing on the balcony was a very tall figure cloaked and hooded in white. Quietly Lucy approached.

"Lu? What are you doing?" Edmund asked from behind her. He and Caspian had followed her.

The figure looked back over it's shoulder and saw them. She didn't bolt as Lucy had expected. The woman turned. She was incredibly tall, astoundingly beautiful and seemed to glow with a golden light. She wore a dress of white, yellow and gold and the inside of her cloak was lined with gold. She carried a long white staff with a stone that glowed with the same golden light that she did in the top encased in a cage of the same wood as the staff. At her waist was strapped a belt with a long golden sword and around her neck hung a golden amulet with a glowing jewel of what appeared to be light. She had long golden hair and her eyes smiled out at them like pools of a deep blue pond. Her mouth was curled up in a gentle and knowing smile.

With one hand unmoving on the staff she dropped into a perfect curtsey to Lucy. "Greetings Queen Lucy the Valiant. Greetings King Edmund the Just. And to you also I extend my welcome, King Caspian X." she said from the curtsey. Her voice was gentle and low and seemed to draw you in.

"Who are you, stranger?" Lucy asked as Caspian and Edmund came and stood beside her.

"A friend, I promise you. My name is Solaris. I am a friend to Aslan." She rose from her curtsey. Lucy noticed that Edmund seemed captivated by her. Her sincere tone told them that she spoke the truth.

"Where are you from?" Caspian said almost accusingly.

"Charn. I was part of the royal family. My sister caused Narnia great trouble and I want nothing more than to rectify her wrongs." The deep blue eyes became earnest.

"And what was the name of this terrible sister?" Edmund asked stuttering slightly, although he had a feeling he knew the answer.

"Jadis, the White Witch. And she is the reason I am here. When my sister condemned this land to the eternal winter, I tried to stop her. Because the laws of Charn prevented her from killing me, she imprisoned me in her castle. I was trapped at the bottom of the frozen lake that surrounded her castle. When the ice melted I was still trapped. Aslan freed me. We have long been allies. I am not a white witch as my sister was. I am a gold witch. I fight for the sun and the light. I also fight for Narnia."

"One of my seers picked up activity from Charn." Caspian said.

"There is a plot amongst the Northern Witches to raise Jadis from the grave and with her the terrible magical army she has power over. They mean to claim Narnia once more. If we are to defeat them we must summon all the kings and queens of Narnia. King Caspian, you must blow Queen Susan's horn. She and High King Peter must be here. I shall depart to find Aslan. And I will need the help of Queen Lucy to find him."

"Of course." Lucy said quickly.

"Your highness, we need a plan. Aslan alone will not be enough." Solaris said, speaking now to Caspian.

"Do you have any ideas?" Caspian said as Edmund and Lucy left to change into the garb of Narnia. Caspian approached Solaris.

"I do. If we can we must prevent them from raising Jadis. But Aslan and I can attempt that. When we find him. But I must warn you, Jadis and her army can only be raised when there is a solar eclipse and when the comet Laertes passes across it. We have time before that happens. It will not happen for a month. But during a solar eclipse my powers are greatly weakened."

Caspian leant on the balcony rail. "Which puts us at a great disadvantage. Tell me of her army. What scale are we talking about?"

"Thousands. Her army is the one she was granted at birth. They are loyal only to her. But there is an upside. I too was granted an army to counter hers. If Aslan and myself fail to prevent her from being raised, that might be our only hope. We need an army of Narnians too. My army is not as vast as hers, but they are loyal to me. We need to work out a battle plan. But now my lord, you must blow the horn and summon the remaining king and queen."

Caspian nodded and took the horn from his belt. He blew it and Solaris smiled.

"Aslan told them that they wouldn't be coming back here again, how will he feel about them returning so soon?"

"Caspian, leave Aslan to me. He trusts my judgement and he will understand."

"How old are you?"

"I am as old as Narnia itself. My sister and I were born at the creation of the land. I am as old as Aslan, as old as time. My power comes from the sun. This stone in my staff is a star. But tell me, indulge me; I can see your heart and it does not beat for the one you are meant for."

"It doesn't?"

"No, sir. Queen Susan is not the one you are destined for. And yet is this love I feel from your heart?" Caspian looked at her in surprise. "I am blessed with the gift of empathy; I can feel emotions in others."

"I think it is love. Susan was so different. So beautiful. Wise and sweet, too." Solaris smiled at the dreamy look on Caspian's face.

"Although you are not destined for her, enjoy your time with her now. For now she is yours. And she is near. The call has worked. They will be arriving soon. Within the hour."

Glenstorm approached them. "Sire, your assistance is required with the plans of the new Cair Paravel."

"Of course." Caspian bowed to Solaris who curtseyed again.

A moment later she was joined by Lucy. "Do you know where Aslan is?"

"I do. He is not too far. Two days journey at most. Your siblings are on their way by the way."

"When must we leave to find Aslan?"

"Soon, dear one."

"In this battle, must I be kept out of the way? I want to help. I want to fight."

"Queen Lucy you will. I can help you. Give me your dagger." Lucy did so. "Small though this weapon is, it is enough." Solaris held it in the palm of her hand and opened her hand flat, staring intently at the dagger. The little dagger started to spin in her hand and slowly rose, still spinning, into the air. Solaris held her staff near it and the blade started spinning faster and glowed white. The stone in the staff also glowed. Solaris shut her eyes and the amulet around her neck glowed too.

A moment later she opened them again and moved her staff away. She lowered her hand from beneath the dagger and it slowly stopped spinning. "Take it, Queen Lucy. It is a gift."

Carefully Lucy reached out and grasped the dagger by the handle. Her eyes went white for a second and then returned to normal. She resheathed it, smiling.

"Now you will have the power to make a difference in Narnia. But I have much to teach you. Come now. We must begin immediately." Taking Lucy by the hand, Solaris led her to a distant corner of the ruins.


	3. Aslan's How

"Is anyone else concerned that there's a horse with wings in the ruins

"Is anyone else concerned that there's a horse with wings in the ruins?" Edmund asked, pointing at the magnificent white creature.

Solaris stood up from where she had been teaching Lucy and walked over to the creature. "Don't point, Edmund. Addonna hates to be pointed at."

"Addonna?"

"She belongs to me. She has been my faithful friend for years." Solaris kissed the horse's nose tenderly.

"Why did we never see you after we defeated the white witch?" Edmund asked after a pause.

"I was there. I watched over you like a guardian angel like Aslan told me to. After you left I was no match for the Telmarines when they invaded. Aslan had disappeared, as did you. Narnia began to lose hope. The trees stopped dancing. The animals stopped talking. I tried to help Narnia; tried to wake her up after the Telmarines left, but only Aslan could do that." Edmund looked into her face and saw that a few tears were threatening to fall.

"We didn't mean to leave. It just, happened. If we'd known what would happen after we left then I assure you we never would have."

"I know. And perhaps if you hadn't left, the Telmarines wouldn't have taken over. Not with our legendary kings and queens at the helm. But it does not do to dwell on what could have been only on what is." Solaris smiled and rubbed the nose of Addonna.

"Edmund!!" a yell came from somewhere.

"That sounds like Peter." Edmund said. "I'm in trouble now."

"Ed! I think Peter and Susan have arrived." Lucy called running up to them. "And I don't think they're too pleased with us."

"Maybe you should leave them to Caspian's care for a while, at least until Peter calms down." Solaris suggested.

"Where are you Edmund?! You are so dead!" Peter shouted, nearer.

"What did you have in mind?" Edmund said quickly turning back to Solaris.

Solaris smiled and got onto Addonna's back. "Get on." They clambered on behind her.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked, holding onto Solaris's waist tightly.

"Aslan's How. I'm going to help both of you. Come on Donna. Hold on your majesties." Solaris nudged Addonna into the air. Addonna spread her huge white and gold feathered wings and in an instant they were in the air. Only moments later they touched down at the stone ruins outside Aslan's How.

"That was fast." Edmund commented sliding off and helping Lucy down.

"Winged horses can fly ten times faster than griffons. They have a wider wingspan and sleeker bodies." Solaris said as Edmund helped her down. Lucy noticed that they stood there for a moment longer than necessary.

"Lucy I want you to practice that spell I taught you." Solaris said when Edmund finally backed off a bit.

"The fire one?"

"Yes, but be careful. Fire spells can be tricky. I'll keep an eye on you but from what I've heard Edmund could use some of my help too." Solaris swirled her cloak off and draped it across Addonna's back.

"In what way?" Edmund asked.

Solaris drew her golden sword. "Your sword skills are a tad rusty. Draw your sword. Attack me."

Edmund looked apprehensive but drew his sword. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. I've had about five thousand more years to practice than you have. But don't worry I'll go easy on you. Come on. Don't be scared."

"Well, alright." Edmund stared at her for a second and then lunged at her and tried to swipe at her. She leapt out of the way with ease and a smile.

Edmund lunged again and she parried his attack easily and then batted his sword away sending him stumbling away until he fell over.

"Come on, Edmund. Concentrate. Use your head as well as your muscles." Solaris instructed. He got up and this time she attacked first. He defended diligently until she knocked the blade out of his hand. "Now what?" she prompted as she caught it. "Everything is a weapon when used right. A stick can poke the eyes out. A branch can be used as a club. A rock is a ballistic missile. If there isn't anything you use your fists and your feet. But most of all you use your head."

"But you've got two swords."

"Then find a way to rid me of them. Use your head. You can't only rely on muscles. All brawn and no brain means a dead king. Do you want that?" Edmund shook his head. "Then think, how are you going to get the swords away from me?"

Edmund glanced around and then had to roll out of the way as Solaris swiped at him with his own sword.

"Always keep an eye on your opponent. You need instincts. And better reflexes." Solaris snapped. "Attack."

"I'm very sorry about this." He said,

"Sorry about what?"

"This." Edmund ran at her and dropped and rolled past her as she tried to swipe him. Once behind her he kicked the back of her knees to make her buckle. She fell with a cry of pain, dropping the swords as she fell. Quickly Edmund pinned her down so she couldn't move.

"That's more like it!" Solaris smiled up at him. "You used your brain. Although I do have one point. Next time you use that move in a duel make sure you pick up the swords in the process."

"It's never good enough for you is it?"

"I have high standards. I blame Aslan." Solaris said cheerfully.

Edmund laughed. "You're quite a woman."

"So I've been told." She smirked. "Are you going to let me up? We've left Lucy alone playing with magic she doesn't understand yet and a basic spell for fire. To me that spells disaster."

"You're probably right."

"So, are you going to let me up?"

"Yeah, sure." Edmund said slowly, not moving.

Solaris rolled her eyes. "I am so going to hell for this." She pulled his head down and kissed him briefly on the lips and while he was stunned she pushed him off her and darted over to where Lucy was trying to put out a fire.

"I saw that." Lucy said not looking at Solaris.

"Saw what?" Solaris pointed her staff at the fire and froze it.

"The chemistry. You like Edmund don't you?"

"No." Solaris said a little too quickly. "We have a work relationship. I'm just helping to prepare the royalty of Narnia to face my sister again."

"Yeah. And I'm a tree fairy." Lucy said sarcastically, sitting down.

"I don't appreciate sarcasm." Solaris also sat down. "And so what if I do like him? It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? You're old enough to be his ancestor."

"Yeah but I don't look it. And if we're talking age-wise, he's also quite old, technically. In Narnian terms he's about thirteen hundred years old. It's not too bad. And I'm not like my sister. I don't have to give him enchanted Turkish Delight to have him fall for me. I just need a simple infatuation spell."

"You're gonna use magic to make him fall in love with you? Have you that little self confidence?"

"I haven't had a date in four thousand years. I've tried to find a halfway decent bloke on my own; number of legs and fur not an obstacle. But I can't. I thought they didn't exist and then I met Edmund." Solaris glanced over her shoulder at the still stunned Edmund.

"He's a good choice. I'm surprised though. Usually Peter's the one who women fall for."

"I haven't met Peter yet. And from what Edmund's told me, I don't think I want to."

Lucy laughed. "Edmund always tells horror stories about Peter. He loves him really. Edmund has always looked up to Peter."

"Edmund's different. He is decent. I've only known him for one day but I am skilled enough at empathy to know his character. He's sweet, and caring, and very protective of you. He's come back from being a jerk and he thinks it's worthwhile because of how he looks in your eyes now."

"I could have told you that without you having to use your power." Lucy smiled.

"Now, back to work. Try the fire spell again."

"Alright." Lucy said uneasily. She drew the dagger again and pointed it at the patch of grass in between them.

"Concentrate. That's all magic is; concentration. Think. Focus." Solaris intoned gently.

"Flamara!" a burst of flame burst from the tip of the blade and started a fire.

"Wonderful! You're taking to magic really well. In time you will be able to make big fires on the battlefield. Fire is very helpful in battle. You can stop a lot of enemies by drawing a line of fire before them, stopping them in their tracks. All you have to do is concentrate. The next spell I'm going to teach you is Aquilo."

"What will that do?"

"It creates wind. It works in the same way as the fire spell. Point at the air."

"Alright. Aquilo." She pointed the dagger at the sky and the winds immediately picked up. She laughed, astonished. "I did it on the first go. Was that supposed to happen?"

Solaris chuckled slightly, holding her hair down. "Yes. Magic lives in all of us, but some people have the special magic gene. And I know for a fact that you have that gene. Magic will come easily for you but be warned; sometimes magic can go bad. It can take you over. Engulf you completely. You won't be like yourself anymore. Believe it or not, Jadis was more like me for centuries until she found the book."

"What book?" Lucy asked as they smoothed their hair back down as the winds died down again.

"It's called the Grimoire. Within its pages lie the darkest magics. Only one specific spell but the dark magics within it do not need to be written down. Reading that one spell will unleash the darkness that resides in all magical people. I was there when we found the Grimoire, but I kept my distance. I watched the darkness take over my sister. And I tried to stop her, I caged her in a cage of sunlight in the vague hope that the light would repress the darkness. She broke free and I fled."

"Couldn't you have tried again?"

"I did. Years later. When Aslan told me she'd destroyed our homeland. By then I'd become much stronger, but so had she. Dark magic always makes the natural powers stronger. Foolishly I confronted her. The battle lasted for days. It killed me to see my sister like that and it scared me to think how easily that could have been me. I did love my sister, but the monster she became wasn't her." Solaris looked over her shoulder as Addonna nudged Edmund with her face and knocked him over, waking him from his shock.

"Would you become like her if you read from the book?" Lucy asked gently.

"She chose ice as her special gift, and I chose light for mine. If I were to read from the book you may as well say goodbye."

"That bad?"

"Worse. Jadis created eternal winter, I would create eternal relentless sunshine. Think Sahara Desert where the sun doesn't set and it stays at the hottest time of day permanently. Water would dry up. Plants would die. Everything would die…painfully. At least with Jadis's winter you could melt the snow and still have water. By comparison her winter would be a picnic compared my summer."

"I think we should head back to Cair Paravel now." Lucy said quickly getting up and hurrying back to where Addonna was bullying Edmund.


	4. Visions

As Addonna touched down at Cair Paravel the first thing they noticed was Peter, dressed in the clothes of Narnia sitting on the ground in the ruins with a large map

As Addonna touched down at Cair Paravel the first thing they noticed was Peter, dressed in the clothes of Narnia sitting on the ground in the ruins with a large map. Occasionally he would run a finger along routes on the map.

Edmund dismounted first and helped Lucy and Solaris down, and once again he seemed reluctant to let Solaris go. Peter looked up and frowned at his brother.

"About time you showed your face." He said coldly as they approached him.

"Sorry Peter. We were just-"

"It was my fault, sir." Solaris cut in taking Edmund's trembling hand. "I stole them away for some training. We needed to start right away."

"You must be Solaris?" Peter said coldly.

Solaris dropped Edmund's hand and dropped into her perfect curtsey. "At your service, my lord. Where is Queen Susan?"

"Ask Caspian. The moment we arrived he started kissing her and he hasn't stopped yet. Glenstorm has filled me in on the situation and reason we were called." Peter's tone would cut through stone.

Solaris elbowed Edmund and Lucy to stop their sniggering. "I may have the ability to see the future, but that one I didn't see coming." At this Edmund and Lucy burst out laughing. Solaris smiled and glanced at the hyenas either side of her. "How are the battle plans coming?" she said although anyone could hear the laugh she was trying to suppress.

"Fine, although we don't know where it will be or when. Or even if it's going to happen at all. Your news was frightfully vague."

"I'm sorry sir, I have seen the plan but further than that is a blur to me." Edmund noticed that Solaris was fidgeting and glancing around, almost guiltily.

"Well, at least it's something." Peter sighed. "A head's up at least. And if we have your army we'll stand a better chance, but we'll need to go over and create some kind of plan."

"Surely Caspian can help us with that when he's finished sucking face with Susan." Peter gave Solaris a look. "Sorry. Too soon? When you've been alive as long as I have you get cynical. And tact tends to dwindle a little."

"You don't say!" Lucy muttered under her breath.

"Lucy I think a little more training is in order. Tomorrow we will get to work on the various elements of storms but we can get to work now and get the spell to create fog. Always useful, fog, confuses your enemies, gets them lost." Solaris hurried Lucy away.

Edmund watched them go and then sat opposite Peter. "What was that look for?"

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that, Ed. I recognise that look. It's the same look Caspian got when he saw Susan had come back. Solaris?"

Edmund nodded. "I can't help it. I can't stop thinking about her."

"Who knew you'd crush on a girl before I would?" Peter chuckled and resumed his map.

Somewhere in the distance they heard Solaris give a cry of pain and a few moments later she drifted past them to the balcony with her hand to her forehead as though she was troubled with a headache.

"You've had crushes before. Haven't you?" Edmund asked watching her.

Peter looked up. "Yes. There's a girl in Susan's class. But she's so pretty and popular that most of the guys in my class were crushing on her. Mind you, a lot of them were also crushing on Susan herself. That caused some friction in the class."

"You and your fighting. Defending the honour of your sister? Not that she needs it. She's in love with Caspian." Edmund rolled his eyes. "Somehow I don't think mine is a crush. I've known her for one day, and she is the sister of the White Witch."

Realisation dawned. "Jadis made you love her, didn't she?"

"She did. She made me feel special, not dwarfed by you."

"Sorry about that. I know I must be a lot to live up to."

"Even in a tender moment High King Peter manages to be arrogant, doesn't he?"

"Edmund, don't be like that."

"Forget it Peter." Edmund got up and wandered over to where Solaris was watching the sun setting over the ocean. She was singing a gentle song to herself as she watched, but stopped when he approached.

"Don't mind Peter. He means well." she said quietly.

Edmund looked up at her. She wasn't much taller than him, only a few inches now that he had had a growth spurt. The setting sun caught her golden hair making her glow. She did bear a resemblance to Jadis, but more how Jadis would have looked; a pure good Jadis.

"When will he stop treating me like a little kid?" Edmund said pouting. Glancing over his shoulder at where Peter was rolling up his map and going back to the tents where everyone was staying.

"When you give him a reason to." She said softly.

"I can't help thinking about you and your sister. Remembering what she made me feel."

Solaris looked at him carefully. "Jadis…Jadis lost her way. Did you know that her heart didn't beat?"

"No I didn't."

"Since the day she let the dark magics consume her, her heart has been frozen. That is why she doesn't feel. If my plan works she will feel."

"You have your own plan?"

Solaris smiled. "It is Aslan's plan. Aslan's and mine. Do not fear. The plan will ensure that Jadis is no longer a threat to anyone."

"How?"

"In your homeland there is a culture which bases it's fighting style on using an opponent's strength against him. I intend to use that principle when facing my sister tomorrow."

Edmund acknowledged the 'tomorrow' but said nothing about it. "You must know what you're doing."

"I always do. And so does Aslan. He will come tomorrow. And you must do exactly as he says."

"Of course. Doesn't everyone?"

"Not nearly as much as he would like." Solaris laughed.

Edmund laughed and leant on the rail watching the last of the sun disappear. "He always seems to make things better, just by being there. How does he do it?"

"Because of who he is." Solaris stared out into the gathering night and then cried out in pain. She sank to the ground clutching her head. The stone in her staff glowed and gave a high pitched note. Edmund knelt beside Solaris and tried to rouse her.

"Sister…Grimoire…can't stop it…no…she's won!" Solaris gasped, beginning to rock backwards and forwards, clutching her temples.

"What's the matter?" Edmund asked, very worried.

"Not after army…just her…Grimoire…me…Narnia…nothing…me…Oh No!" she cried as she stopped rocking and fell backwards into Edmund's arms in a dead faint.

"Solaris? Lucy! Peter! Susan! Caspian!" he shouted, panic stricken. They came from various directions in the darkness at a run bearing torches.

"Solaris? What happened to her?" Lucy asked, kneeling beside them.

"This is Solaris?" Susan asked.

"Yes. I think she had a vision. She was talking about her sister and the Grimoire? What's the Grimoire?" Edmund asked brushing her hair away from her face.

"The evil book of spells. The gateway to evil. It's what made Jadis go evil. Her second vision this evening. What else did she say?" Lucy said urgently.

"That they weren't after an army just Jadis, and Sorlaris. Her speech wasn't exactly coherent."

"She knows something. Something more. Come on, let's get her back to the camp. Ed, you take her head and I'll take her feet, Caspian take the middle. Lucy, bring her staff." Peter said practically.

Gently they took her back to the girl's tent and laid her on Lucy's bed.

"I'll sit with her until she comes round." Edmund suggested.

Edmund was just dozing off when, much later, Solaris did wake up with a scream. She sat up swiftly and grasped the amulet at her throat. "I had a vision. I saw the future. I know what will come to pass. The eleven Northern Witches are not seeking to raise Jadis and her army, just Jadis." She gasped.

"What about the Grimoire? You mentioned it three times when you were having the vision." Edmund drew close to her, kneeling on the floor by the bed.

"The final battle of Solaris. Jadis will make me read from the book, she will make me like her."

"You have to fight it then. You cannot become like her."

"I don't have a choice." Solaris breathed.

"You always have a choice." Edmund protested, taking her hands. "You must fight her. She cannot have this power over you." vaguely he became aware of the other four kings and queens at the entrance to the tent.

"You know better than anyone the power she can have over someone. They have already raised her. She is waiting for me. The stone table will once again be as one. Snow shall not cover Narnia but sunlight shall." She said in a cold strong voice. "Not one hundred years, but a thousand. Together we will bring an end to the land. I cannot stop her. She will have her way. She will have me. And I will not be able to prevent it." she fell forwards into Edmunds arms and the kings and queens of Narnia came into the tent completely.

"What's happening, Solaris?" Lucy asked gently, sitting on the bed.

Solaris looked up into Lucy's eyes. Slowly a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. "Remember your training. Believe in yourself and believe in the true magic and the spells will come to you. Narnia will someday be free. Come to Aslan's How. Just the five of you and Aslan. Tomorrow. At sunset." She caressed Lucy's cheek gently and then looked into Edmund's eyes. "Have faith in yourself. And use your head." She whispered. "I must see Aslan!" she said sharply and suddenly rising in one fluid movement and grabbing her cloak and staff before bolting from the tent.

The others followed quickly and watched as she mounted Addonna and took off. They watched her disappearing into the darkness.

Caspian sighed. "Change of plan then?"


	5. Grimoire

"Aslan

"Aslan!" Solaris shouted touching down in the moonlit woods. Night was almost over. "I must see you!"

"Then stop shouting, Solaris." Aslan said appearing from behind a clump of bushes.

Solaris dismounted and bowed before him. "I'm sorry. I have seen the plan, and I know what will happen to me. She intends to make me read from the Grimoire and plunge Narnia into everlasting summer."

"I know. You must fight it."

"How? No one can fight the Grimoire." She said rising.

"You can." Aslan said gently and proudly.

Solaris looked around at the dark woods, imagining shapes flitting amongst the trees. A breeze shifted her hair and skirt. "You know of a way to defeat the Grimoire?"

"I do. You are the only person who can. The only one who can stop Jadis once and for all. If you have the courage. If you can face your sister."

"I guess sisterly rivalry really does apply at all levels."

"Indeed." Aslan chuckled. "But you know your abilities, you know how strong the light really is. And you know your sister."

"I have to surrender without a fight?" she protested twenty minutes later after Aslan had told her the plan.

Aslan looked down at where she sat on the mossy floor. "The time to fight will come. You will defeat your sister. Just have faith in your sister and yourself. Remember… sunrise. I must go to Cair Paravel. I will bring them at sunset. You must consult and meditate." With that he bounded off into the darkness. Solaris watched him go sadly.

Addonna came and lay beside her. Solaris stroked her nose gently. "Donna, do you know a spell for courage? Sunrise is in less than an hour. I haven't done this in centuries. Not since the Calormen tried to steal Narnia with the aid of an army of darkness demons. But both of them? I don't know the kind of power they'll give me. Or if they'll even be able to help. Aslan thinks so, but I'm not so sure. What do you think Addonna?"

The five kings and queens of Narnia followed Aslan to Aslan's How and thence inside to the wrecked stone table. The sun was preparing to set outside. Jadis was already there with eleven other witches. The fires round the walls were lit and the walls were flickering with shadows.

"Aslan, I knew you would come. I wanted you to see this, see the downfall of your country. Solaris will be here soon. Ah, the five kings and queens of Narnia. Hello Edmund. How's things?" Jadis said coolly. She wore the same outfit she had done when Aslan had been killed on this very spot. Jadis smiled an evil little smile.

"Where is she?" Edmund replied, glaring at her.

Jadis scoffingly laughed. "Solaris is here. She's getting ready. It's a big occasion. Almost as big as my coronation."

"What coronation?" Peter snarled. "You were never queen of Narnia."

"Not Narnia, dear boy. Charn." The Witch brought a beautiful golden crown studded with diamonds out from behind her.

"Say the word, and one of my arrows goes through her head." Susan whispered.

"Solaris told me she was queen of Charn." Edmund protested loudly and quickly, to cover Susan's comment.

"She was until I took back what was rightfully mine. When she follows through with our little plan here, she will be queen of Charn once again."

"You destroyed Charn." Aslan said. "The title is only a title."

"Not to her. To her it means more. The people of Charn used to be decent. They used to be like her." Jadis sounded very bitter.

"Then how did such a decent country turn out someone like you?" Edmund snapped.

Jadis roared in fury and pointed her wand at him. He had only a second to duck before she fired a shard of ice at him. It shattered on the wall behind him. Slowly he straitened up and looked at the white shatter marks on the wall.

Aslan roared. "Jadis enough! Control your temper! The people of Charn, over time, became evil and malevolent, like you. Jadis, you were once like your sister, you were once good. You can be so again." Aslan insisted.

"What makes you think I want to be good? Besides, I was never good, I was great." Jadis conjured a blue velvet cushion and carefully placed the crown onto it.

"You were good, sister, once." Turning they saw Solaris come into the chamber dressed in a dress of spun gold and her staff in her hands. She wasn't glowing anymore.

"Come, sister, it is time." Jadis held out a hand to her. Reluctantly Solaris took it and Jadis led her towards the broken stone table.

"Solaris, what are you doing? You can't go through with this." Edmund protested getting in front of them and stopping them.

"Edmund please. I have to." Solaris pleaded quietly.

"Stand aside Edmund." Jadis coldly said. Edmund drew his sword. "Put it away boy." Jadis scoffed.

"Solaris. Why? Why do you have to do this?" Edmund pointed his sword at Jadis but addressed Solaris.

"I have to do this, Ed. For Narnia." She tried to tell him with her eyes that it was alright.

"Edmund," Aslan said quietly and firmly, "Stand aside."

"Aslan how can you just stand there and watch Narnia be imprisoned again?" Edmund lowered his sword and stood aside but rounded on Aslan instead.

Aslan looked at Edmund carefully. "Edmund, calm yourself. Solaris knows what she's doing."

Solaris looked into Aslan's eyes and he gave a very small nod. She could see the fire dancing in his amber eyes. Her eyes had tears threatening to fall as Jadis led her up the steps to the table.

Jadis took the staff from her and placed it in front of Solaris. She let it go and it hung in the air unsupported. One of the other witches handed Solaris a big black book embossed with glowing purple symbols. It exuded evil and the fires round the walls dimmed considerably. Jadis got down off the table and smiled.

Solaris looked into the faces of each of the kings and queens of Narnia, lingering on Edmund's. Taking a deep breath to gather her courage she opened the book.

She closed her eyes as pain washed over her. Fighting the pain she turned over a page of the book and opened her eyes again. With a tear rolling down her cheek she spoke the one spell. "Traguna Mecoides, Trecorum Satis De." As soon as she started the spell a thread of purple light came out of the book and went into the centre of her forehead.

She cried out in pain as black symbols travelled up the purple thread and went into her head. Her head whipped back and her hair started blowing about as though caught in a strong wind.

Aslan roared his magnificent roar, making everyone jump. Solaris's head came back down and she started breathing in heavy shuddering breaths. She dropped the book and the sound it made as it hit the floor was far heavier than you would expect from a book. The last of the magical thread went into her as she opened her eyes. Her pupils were black.

"Come on, fight it." Aslan said quietly.

Slowly Solaris raised a shaking hand and grasped her staff. "Solaris Icendemae." She gasped. As soon as her hand closed around it the stone emitted a bright flash of white light that washed over the company.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked severely scared.

"All part of it. She's turning." Jadis laughed cruelly.

"No! Solaris!" Edmund yelled starting forwards. Aslan roared again.

Solaris's head lolled forwards onto her chest and she levitated high into the air. Bright sunlight swirled around her. Slowly she smiled and raised her head again. Slowly she opened her eyes. They were not black, but white, no iris just white. She was glowing again.

She raised the staff above her head and then the fires around the walls flared up high.

Slowly she drifted down again and turned to her sister. Jadis was staring at her in shock.

"Solaris? What are you doing?" she asked as Solaris pointed her staff at her.

The smile on her face got eviller. "Testing it. Pectus Focillo!" a beam of light burst from the staff and struck Jadis in the chest.

Jadis screamed and a shadow seemed to leap out of her. She collapsed onto the floor in a shaking heap. Solaris smile softened. She turned to the other northern witches.

"I suggest you stay still." She snarled. The witches were encased in a trap of sunlight. One of them tried to push her way out of it but it burned her hand.

"Solaris Incendemae." She panted and the light stopped swirling around her and she fell backwards, unconscious. Edmund leapt onto the table and caught her.

"Solaris? Aslan what's happened to her?" Edmund said.

"She has finally defeated her sister. Because she knew about the plan, we could form a plan of our own. She'll be fine. Don't worry. Her magic and her heart will see her through." Aslan smiled.

Solaris's eyes fluttered open. "Edmund?" Solaris said weakly. Her breathing was course as though it was hard for her to do.

"Solaris, how do you feel?" Edmund smiled and felt very foolish.

"I'll live, I promise you." she smiled gently, her eyes now back to normal.

Edmund's smile widened. "You didn't have to do that."

"It was the only way."

"Is she dead?" Caspian asked approaching the fallen Jadis with caution.

"No. I have robbed her of the evil the Grimoire gave her. She'll be out of it for a while." Solaris turned her head and looked at Caspian. "Aslan, help me." she pleadingly whispered.

Aslan came close and breathed on her. At once her breathing became more natural.

"Thank you Edmund. I think I'll be all right now." Edmund smiled and helped her stand up.

"No longer will Jadis be a threat. I have warmed her heart; broken the ice that encased it. Released her from the grip of evil. In time she will be good again. She will be our ally." Solaris smiled around at the kings and queens. "Narnia has evaded a terrible fate. We saved Narnia; I say we party."

The others laughed as Edmund hopped off the table and helped her down. Solaris stooped and picked up the fallen Grimoire. "I'll keep hold of this. I'll make sure no one finds it again."

"And this?" Edmund picked up the crown from the place it had fallen when Solaris took Jadis's powers. He offered it to her. She put the Grimoire and her staff on the stone table and took the crown.

"I am the last survivor of a country that is bare of life. I was her queen, and then I wasn't."

"You could bring Charn back." Aslan suggested. "It could be great once more. Narnia's greatest ally. It would take work, hard work. And a great deal of magic. But it is possible."

"Tempting."


	6. Epilogue

Several days passed

Several days passed. Solaris spent many hours in consultation with Aslan about her country. She also spent a lot of time riding out with Edmund and teaching Lucy spells. She said that knowing the spells would help her in the future.

All four kings and queens had decided to stay in Narnia for a while longer and help Caspian. Peter; because since he and Susan had arrived Caspian had spent all of his time with Susan and Peter felt that at least one of them should be there to run the country. Edmund and Lucy both wanted to stay because of Solaris.

It looked like they would all be staying for some time. Edmund wasn't complaining. He was rapidly falling in love with Solaris. And she was doing her best to stop her feelings for him before things really got out of hand.

There was quite a bit of love at Cair Paravel at that time. Caspian, despite knowing that Susan was not his destined bride was spending all of his time with her in the fear that she would be lost to him again. They were so open with their feelings that Lucy and Peter thought it was hilarious. Until it got too much for them and they had to tell the happy couple to get a room.

The northern witches had been banished to their mountains and placed under a curse if they ever should return to Narnia. Jadis was at Cair Paravel, much weakened by the loss of the evil within her. Solaris visited her every day and re-educating her seemed to be working well.

Edmund walked through the ruins, thinking, unsurprisingly, about Solaris, when he saw her at the balcony again looking at the crown of Charn pensively. She was usually at that balcony gazing off into the sunsets or just out to sea. Carefully he approached, not wanting to break her reverie.

"You don't have to sneak up on me, Ed. I can feel you coming a mile off." She said turning. Today she was wearing a dress of sunshine yellow and cloth of gold. Edmund noticed that she always wore those colours; white, yellow, gold and cream.

Gently he took the crown out of her hands. "I think you should rebuild Charn. Narnia would help you."

"I don't doubt it. But to bring a country like that back would take a great deal of work and I'm not sure it's worth it. The country was suffering, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't bring it the hope it needed."

"We're willing to lend you Lucy, if you'd like. That girl has more hope in her than any other person I have ever met."

Solaris chuckled. "Thank you, but I'll wager that even she couldn't have enough hope for a country like that."

"You sound like you're already talking yourself out of it."

"In a way I am. Ideally I would love Charn to be the new Narnia, but I fear that will turn out like it was before it was destroyed. The root of evil."

"How did you manage to stay so decent in such a terrible place?"

"Aslan. He came to Charn and he had such an influence over me that I managed to resist the evil that our family was trying to impose on us. And through me, Jadis managed to stay on the side of good until we found that book and it consumed her."

Edmund hesitated for a moment. He had held back asking his next question for fear of her answer. "How did you manage to resist the Grimiore?"

She chuckled as the question burst from him. "At sunrise that day I invoked the sun and all the stars. All stars are suns. Their combined power gave me the strength to conquer it. It very nearly did."

"That's not true. You fought it off almost immediately."

"Almost. For a moment it controlled me. Had Aslan and yourself not brought me back, it would have controlled me completely. When I heard his roar and your shout I knew that I mustn't let it take me over. But I doubted myself. I thought I wasn't strong enough. I needed you to bring me back from the edge." she looked down at her hands and Edmund took her hand comfortingly.

"Everyone doubts themselves sometimes. Like you said, you just need someone there to bring you back from the edge of falling. For what it's worth I think you would have been the best queen Charn could ever wish for, and if anyone can bring it back, it's you." Edmund smiled at her. She returned it as he placed the crown carefully on her head. "It suits you. a beautiful crown for a beautiful girl." Kissing her hand he left as Peter called him and Caspian in for a meeting.

"He's right you know." A voice said from behind her. Turning Solaris saw Jadis walking towards her. She looked a lot more natural in a simple blue dress in the same style as her own. "You would be the best thing for Charn." She looked at the crown.

"You've changed your tune." Solaris smiled at her sister.

Jadis's smile was more natural too. "I've changed a lot of things. Are you really going to rebuild Charn?"

"I seem to have spent most of my life cleaning up after you, so what the hell, sure. I'll try at least."

"You'll do it. I know you will."

Solaris turned around and leant on the balcony rail. "I might need a deputy. I'm sure we could rule it together. Provided you behave yourself."

"I promise. You'd be the High Queen and I'd be just Queen, right. Like they have here?" Jadis actually looked quite happy at the arrangement.

Solaris chuckled and took the crown off. "Deal. But no more civil wars. We work together. How's your magic by the way?"

"Purer. It's recovering nicely. So, High Queen Solaris and Queen Jadis leading the new Narnia. It's a pity we don't have any brothers. If we did we could have two kings and two queens."

"Jadis, we can barely get along without fighting. Add two men to that and we may as well not rebuild Charn at all."

Jadis laughed, and it was a pleasant laugh. "Fair point. It could be our chance to prove once and for all that women make better rulers than men. Still, it couldn't hurt to have a male hand on the tiller."

"I'm not sure you did such a good job of it when you ruled Narnia." Solaris chuckled, but her sister's words sounded quite appealing.

"Hm. Well. I was a tyrant. I won't be again though. Not with you there to keep an eye on me."

Solaris laughed and Jadis smiled at her. "I have such hopes for Charn, sister. It will be what it once was. Before the people went bad. The trees in Charn will dance once more. Wherever you go you'll hear music in the air, sung by the wind. Charn will be Narnia's greatest ally. The people will be happy, they'll farm the land. We'll govern wisely. We'll hardly ever have to go to war unless Narnia calls on us."

"And love?"

"I thought you didn't believe in love."

Jadis laughed again. "I do. You can't watch Caspian and Susan together and not believe in it. What about love in Charn?"

"Of course there'll be love in Charn. No arranged marriages. They're too barbaric, even for us."

"I meant you."

"Me?"

"You and Edmund."

"I like him, yeah, but he belongs here. He has his own country to run."

"Sol, Narnia has five kings and queens; I think it can afford to lose one. At least to let him take frequent holidays in Charn." Jadis's face was deadpan but the way her mouth was twitching made it clear that she wanted to laugh.

"Sounds promising." A deeply amused Aslan said coming to sit beside them softly.

"Aslan, you know it can't be done. He belongs in Narnia. And Charn is so far away."

"It doesn't have to be, Sol." Jadis said. "All it needs is a portal."

"I do hate it when you're right, Jadis. Shall we do that first? Aslan, will you help us bring Charn back to life?"

"Of course. Although I don't think you need it. Jadis, make the portal." He ordered.

Jadis strode over to one of the glassless windows in the ruins and traced it with her wand, pouring pearl coloured magic into the gap. It didn't look any different. Turning back to the others she called, "Portal's ready. Let's get started."

The day grew dark and no one had seen Solaris, Jadis or Aslan. This was starting to worry Edmund. But he needn't have worried. They returned, exhausted, while the five kings and queens were having some food in one of the tents. Peter and Caspian were, once again, fighting and the remaining three were looking very bored when Jadis and Solaris entered the tent. Their presence seemed to quell the argument.

"Where have you been?" Edmund asked as Solaris sat beside him and took some food from his plate.

"Charn. It's just about finished." She panted.

"You brought it back?"

"All we need are citizens. And possibly a king." Solaris smiled at Edmund and he blushed. Lucy and Jadis started sniggering. Solaris glared at Jadis and Edmund snarled at Lucy; which only made them laugh more. "Lucy, do you think Narnia would be willing to lend us one of theirs? Citizens I mean. Well, or kings. I'm sure I can think of one who would do the job well." she looked sexily at Edmund and one of her eyebrows quirked suggestively.

Edmund blushed even more and a grin slowly spread itself over his face.

"Sister, a word." Jadis said getting up again and grabbing Solaris by the elbow. She dragged her outside. "Could you be any more obvious?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Solaris feigned innocence.

"I'm ashamed of your blatancy. After five thousand years, you would think you'd be able to be subtle."

"Clearly you're wrong. Come on Jade, let me please have some fun. It's going too slowly."

"He's young. And trust me he's shy."

"You used magic, I refuse to use magic for this. Come on Jade, I haven't felt this way in four thousand years. I haven't had a date in four thousand years."

Jadis thought for a moment. "There was Spider. That was, what, two and a half thousand years ago."

"That was a blind date. And I don't think it counts when your date tries to eat you."

Jadis laughed despite herself. "He wasn't that bad."

Solaris glared at her sister. "Halfway through the date he mutated into a giant spider."

"Arachnid's don't make the best first impressions."

"Jade, you set me up with a date that tried to eat me. I don't think it could get worse than that."

"About Edmund. He's a teenage boy. And I think we should have learnt out lesson by now that all male creatures are morons."

Solaris paused. "Why are you always right?"

"I am older and therefore wiser."

"You're only older than me by about ten seconds! Come on, I'm hungry." Solaris led her sister back into the tent and sat beside Edmund who was blushing and looking very sheepish as Lucy looked triumphant. Caspian meanwhile was whispering in Susan's ear and every now and then she would giggle girlishly and Peter would roll his eyes.

Solaris took some food from Edmunds plate. "We're going to have to fill Charn with people, sister, without people we don't have anyone to rule."

"What about raising the Mermazons and the Amazons? That would give us some forces. And they're pretty decent people."

"What are Mermazons?" Edmund asked.

"The Amazons were a race of warrior women who somehow managed to reproduce without men. Mermazons are cousins of the Amazons. They are mermaid warriors. They're the same as the Amazons, just with tails and under water." Solaris explained.

"Well, we can help with populating the country." Peter said. "The Centaurs are growing too numerous here, as are the Fauns. I'm sure families of Dwarves and Minotaurs would like to start a new life there."

"I like your thinking. Thank you." Solaris said.

"Sister, I've just remembered. When I destroyed the country, I preserved some creatures that Narnia doesn't have. The Colossal Eagles, Dragons, the Charn Giants, Dark Phoenixes, Razorclaws, Winged Horses, Gold Unicorns and even a few Kraken." Jadis put in ticking them off on her fingers. "I just need to remember where I hid them."

"We've already brought back the talking animals, so, actually we have a pretty decent population. In a week or two I think we can have our coronation and open parliament."

"Who's going to be in our parliament?" Jadis asked. "Apart from us of course."

"A couple of Amazon Chiefs. Centaurs like Glenstorm. A few intelligent minotaurs. Lots of dwarves, they're very sensible. Maybe a few human families will join our population and some of the brainier ones can be lords and advisors."

Pause. "Not that we need advisors of course." Jadis and Solaris said together. The monarchs of Narnia laughed.

"You've all got to come for the coronation. You can stay with us at the castle." Solaris said taking Edmunds hand where it rested on the table.

"You know, Sol, we need titles." Jadis said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like Lucy here; she's Queen Lucy the Valiant. And Edmund is King Edmund the Just. We need titles like that."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Solaris laughed.

"How about Queen Jadis the Great?"

"How about Queen Jadis the Reformed or the Reformer?" Solaris fired back.

"You'd want to be High Queen Solaris the Brave, or something."

"As opposed to Jadis the Evil?" Solaris stood up and drew her golden sword.

"Solaris the Cow?" Jadis did likewise and pointed her wand at her sister.

"Jadis the Loser?"

Solaris and Jadis glared at each other for a moment then both burst out laughing. They lowered their weapons and Solaris resheathed her sword.

"This is a great start isn't it? We can't agree on anything, even something as trivial as this." Solaris chuckled as they sat down again.

"Why don't you take the title High Queen Solaris the…damn this is hard! How did you come up with yours?" Jadis asked the Narnian sovereigns.

"We didn't. Aslan did." Peter said.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Jadis sighed.

"We can come up with them later. In the morning can we show them Charn?"

"You're asking my permission Sol?"

"I know I'm going to be High Queen, but sometimes I have to ask your permission. It's your country too."

"I don't see why we can't show them. I always thought Charn looked best when the red sun rose. We used to rise early to watch it from the castle, don't you remember Sol? Why don't we go before sunrise? Then we can all see it. Charn's sunrise is magnificent. How is it you once described it?"

"The most beautiful sunset you could possibly imagine, but in reverse. Yeah." Solaris smiled warmly and nodded.


End file.
